The drought the Eagles are desperate to snap

Email Icon Chris RobinsonSam Mitchell was on the receiving end of a Daniel Kerr strike to the groin the last time the Eagles beat Hawthorn away from WA in 2006.Picture: Network 10

For more than a decade, an AFL team flying out of Perth Airport to face Hawthorn has been guaranteed one thing.

Defeat.

West Coast and Fremantle have enjoyed plenty of success since mid-2006, including three grand final berths between them, and have found ways to claim regular scalps away from the confines of home.

But getting the better of Alastair Clarkson’s side on the east coast hasn’t just proved difficult, it’s been impossible.

The two WA sides have lost their past 16 – yep, 16 – games combined against the Hawks on the road.

Docker Harley Bennell is set to escape punishment after being removed from a flight for intoxication.

The West Australian

Docker Harley Bennell is set to escape punishment after being removed from a flight for intoxication.

That includes matches in Launceston, at Etihad Stadium, and of course the MCG – where Sandgropers will need no reminding Hawthorn prevailed in grand finals in 2013 (against Freo) and 2015 (against West Coast).

The last time the Hawks lost to a team travelling from across the Nullarbor was round 14, 2006, when the footy world was a vastly different place.

Vital to West Coast’s 10-point triumph at the MCG that Saturday afternoon was Chris Judd, who racked up 33 disposals and 10 clearances in typical fashion, and Quinten Lynch, who kicked a bag of five.

A teenage Mark LeCras was making just his third AFL appearance. A skinny Lance Franklin – who this weekend will likely boot his 800th career goal – had just 30 majors to his name through 26 games.

Of course, some things change only subtly. The ever-prolific Sam Mitchell gathered 35 possessions to earn a Brownlow vote against his future team – despite copping a hit to the groin from Daniel Kerr that earned the retired midfielder a one-match ban.

Sam Mitchell to test his injured ankle behind closed doors with hopes to be cleared for Sunday's match

The West Australian

Sam Mitchell to test his injured ankle behind closed doors with hopes to be cleared for Sunday's match

More than a decade on, the Eagles have a golden chance to end the WA curse against Clarkson’s outfit on the road.

West Coast enters Sunday’s clash at the home of footy as warm $1.37 favourites against a winless Hawks side that has been picked apart over the past fortnight.

If the visitors can snap the drought against the brown-and-gold, it may well mark another sign of the end of the Hawks’ era of dominance.